Heather's Genealogy Notes

Surnames are listed down the right of the page. If you have any questions, comments, or info to share, please email me at htruck@gmail.com I do have more information than is currently posted here, I'm working my way through my files, uploading as much info as I can as I go.

He apparently has at least one brother, from the census records that tell us Lucy Stam is a widow, living with Catherine (Kitty) Stamm, aunt of Mary Ann (Stom) Duck). Currently I assume that Katy Stom was an unmarried sister of Unknown Stom.

July 1802 - Lucy is Born

Lucy married a Stom, but I do not know who she married

Her tombstone gives us her age at death, and her death date.

The 1880 Census lists Lucy as widowed. Her husband appears to have died before the 1850 census, when Lucy is found with Kittie Stom. In 1860, still living with Kitty, no occupation is given for Lucy, but the census tells us she cannot read. Lucy appears to have moved between 1860 & 1870 - In the 1870 census she is in her own household, listed as a housekeeper. Her real estate is listed at 300.

The census states that she cannot write, and there is a mark under the column for deaf, dumb, blind, insane or idiotic.

Her tombstone gives her death date and age, although the days is unreadable, so November 1804 is the closes I can approximate. Census records consistently work out to her being born around 1804 as well.

She died April 10 1884.

I don't know if she was born a Stom, or if she married a Stom. There's no indication she was a widow, but no proof she wasn't, and on the whole, VERY little information about her that I can find.

This is believed to be Mary Ann (Stom) Duck's mother, and another aunt - BUT in 1880, Widow Mary Duck lives with her "Aunt" Kittie, age 75, making her born about 1804. So likely this Catherine, and the Kittie in 1880, are the same woman - meaning Catherine is Mary Ann's Aunt, not mother?

Her death certificate in 1900 states that she was first married at age 19. Unless she had another husband we do not know about, this would mean she married Daniel around 1855.Name:Daniel HanesGender:MaleAge:82Race:WhiteBirth Year:1834Death Date:17 Dec 1916Death Place:Plainfield, Kent, Michigan, USA1860 - Residences

The 1868 Selinsgrove Map shows the property of J. Duck betwen Snyder and Walnut Streets, on Main Street.

I cannot find any Stoms on the map.

1880 - Residences

Is Kittie the Aunt of Mary Duck, or the aunt of the Duck boys, Henry & Edward? She's 75 years old in 1850- so either is possible, but I lean towards her being the aunt of Mary Ann.Kittie Stamm is age 75 in 1880, meaning she was born about 1805

1870 - Residences

Name:Mary A Duck

Age in 1870:42

Birth Year:abt 1828

Birthplace:Pennsylvania

Home in 1870:Selinsgrove, Snyder, Pennsylvania

Race:White

Gender:Female

Post Office:Selinsgrove

Value of real estate:View image

Household Members:

NameAge

Mary A Duck42

William Duck19

Edward Duck3

Catharine Stom66

In the 1870 census, a 66 year old Catherine Stom lives with them. In 1880 A Kitty Staum, age 76, also lives with them, listed as "Aunt".

Lucy lives alone in 1870, listed as a housekeeper. Her real estate is listed at 300.

The census states that she cannot write, and there is a mark under the column for deaf, dumb, blind, insane or idiotic.

1880 Residences:

1880 Lucy is listed as widowed - so she is likely the sister in law of Catherine.

1900 Mary Ann (Stom) Duck Died

This is where we learn that Mrs. Daniel Hahne of Grand Rapids Michigan is her sister.

Death of Mother Duck

Death has again invaded the community and claimed one near and dear to the writer, even a mother, in the person of Mrs. Mary A Duck, whose death took place Wednesday April 18th at a little past ten o'clock am at the home of her son William H. Duck in the East End. The deceased was born in this place on the 8th day of June 1827 and was therefor in the 73rd year of her age. The deceased had been in ill health from the holidays of the present year. About the 15th of last November she went to Williamsport to visit her youngest son E.E. Duck. After a stay of about six weeks she began to long anxiously for a return home. Ed accompanied her back to her old home. after a stay of a week with the family of her son Henry and about two weeks in the home of the editor, and after which she remained with the family of her son William until she crossed over and beyond the river. Soon after her return home from Williamsport her friends noticed that her once strong and robust constitution was surely giving way to the encroachment of the insidious disease which had fastened itself upon her and which was early in her sickness pronounced incurable by her physician Dr F.J. Wagenseller her friends watched her growing weaker day by day until the end came and her immortal spirit freed itself from its frail tenement of clay and winged itself into the presence of the God who gave it. She was a good mother, and no one knows this better than her children, and now she has been removed from them they will miss her wise counsel and words of admonition. The deceased leaved to surved her four sons, the editor of this aper, William Hall Duck employed by Pencoyd bridge co, H J. Duck employed in the government printing office, and E. E. Duck employed in L Stearns & Cos Store, Williamsport; three daughters preceded her to the spirit world. There are nine grand-children and nine great-grandchildren. She also has one sister, Mrs Daniel Hahne of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mother Duck for more than a half-century was a member of the Reformed Church. The funeral obsequies will be held at the home of her son where she died, Saturday afternoon at 1 o'clock. Internment at the family burial plot in the Reformed Cemetery.

1900 - Catherine (Stom) Hanes Died

Catherine died August 25 1900, at age 65.

The Transcript of her death certificate gives her birthdate as 1835, (January? 15)

She was married age 19, with 2 children, one who was living at the time of her death.

Her parents are listed as born in PA, but her mothers name is unknown and her father is listed only as Stom or Stam.

She died of vascular heart disease.

Burials:

Catherine (Kitty), Lucy, and Mary Ann are all buried right near each other in the Reformed Church Cemetery in Selinsgrove Pa. I have not seen the churches cemetery records (I would like to!) but I can find no other Stoms in the cemetery, there appear to be no male Stoms there at all. Mary Ann's sister, Catherine (Stom) Hanes, was buried in Michigan.

"Johannes Henry lived on the Leinbach homestead in the Oley Valley of Pennsylvania throughout his life and owned 218 acres of land there at his death. The Moravian records indicate that he had accompanied Count Zinzendorf, the Moravian patron, to the Wyoming Valley of the Susquehanna River near Reading, Pennsylvania."http://www.ibiblio.org/lineback/leinbach/tree/112.htm1705 Johan Heinrich Leinbach Was BornIn Germany - source: DAR Application

This record shows 1703 - Name:Johann Linebaugh[Johann Heinrich Leinbach] Father:Johannes LeinbachMother:Anna Elisabeth KleissBirth Date:15 Jul 1703City:HochstadtCounty:WetterauCountry:GermanyThis is the record of his parents, in the Mennonite vital records:

1718 Salome Herman Was Born

"I have Johanna (Salome) (Herman) Leinbach mentioned in Moravian records when she was baptized as the daughter of Daniel and Maria Catharina Elizabeth (Obermuller) Herman.

Daniel Herman was among the 1709's (as was Maria Catharina Elizabeth Obermuller) and was married at that time to another woman who died either aboard ship or shortly after arrival to the U.S.. He had one son by his first marriage and three sons by his second. Perhaps your family comes from one of these sons. Wish I could give you more information." - ancestry message boards1723 - Immigrated To AmericaJohannes Henrich Leinbach came to America with his parents in 1723.NameJohann Heinrich LeinbachArrival Year1723Arrival PlaceAmericaSource Publication Code1031.9.50Primary ImmigrantLeinbach, Johann HeinrichAnnotationDate and port of arrival. Name of ship, place of origin, and citation to original record may also be provided. Spouse and children, mentioned prior to emigration, were assumed by indexers to have accompanied emigrant. Extensive genealogical and historical information is also provided.Source BibliographyBURGERT, ANNETTE K. Eighteenth Century Emigrants from Langenselbold in Hesse to America. Myerstown, PA: AKB Publications, 1997. 192p.Page931738 - Heinrich Leinbach Married Salome Herman On November 2, 1738, he married Salome (Johanna) Herman, who was born in Conestoga, Berks County, Pennsylvania. 1740 - Daughter Anna Catherine Leinbach is bornBIRTH 1740 • Berks County, PaDEATH 12 JULY 1782 • Friedberg, Roan, NCShe married George Peter BeckShe's buried in the Moravian cemetery in North Carolina

1742 - Salome is Baptized and changes her name to Johanna1746 - Son John Daniel Leinbach Was BornIn the estate papers for Heinrich, he's listed as the "eldest son".1752 - Son Henry Leinbach Was BornHenry was Dan's 5th great grandfather, you can read more about him here:http://heathersgen.blogspot.com/2018/02/henry-leinbach-sr-1752-1832.html1777 - Heinrich Leinbach DiedDied 1777 BurialBuried in the old cemetery at the Spies Church near Oley. (The old graveyard below the church has been abandoned and the stones moved to the newer cemetery on top of the hill.)

House of the Stauber-Leinbach Homestead' circa 1715-1730 in Oley. Proprietor of the homestead had been Jacob Stauber 1713-1723. Johannes and Anna Elisabetha Leinbach had entertained a stream of Moravian missionaries 1736-1741 including Count Zinzendorf and his daughter Benigna.

Johan Ferderich Leinbach

son of

Born in Germany 1674

Died In PA 1747

Married

Anna Elizabeth Kleiss

Daughter of

Born

Died

Children:

Johan Heinrich Leinbach 1703-177 m. Salome Hermann

'...Their church and school building was a 41 by 41 foot, three-story half-timbered, frame building... The school was opened in 1745 with two teachers.

'Johannes Leinbach served his church as elder for five years. He died in 1747 at the age of 73. It is believed that he is buried in the Moravian's "God's Acre," an abandoned graveyard on a hill near the Moravian School. The graves are unmarked.'

'[My] "father was a pious and God-fearing man, who made me cling, according to the best of his knowledge, to all that was good. We lived very retired and cut off from the world. My father held home devotions with us children and trained us in singing and prayer"--Maria Barbara Linebaugh Nitschmann. '===================================================JOHANNES LEINBACH SENIOR, b 9 Mar 1674 was born in Langenselbold, in the Wetterau region near Hanau (east of Frankfurt), Germany. He was baptized on Apr 15, 1674; godfather was Johannes Lerch (RS). at Langenselbold on March 9, 1674, and was baptized there immediately after his birth by the pastor of that place in the Reformed religion, in which he was raised by his parents, Henrich LEINBACH, and Barbara nee LERCH. In Germany he was an organist. He married Anna Elisabeth KLIESS on October 2, 1700. Johannes Sr. and Elizabeth were married at the Reformed Church in Altenhasslau, across the river Kinzig from Gelnhausen, about four kilometers from Eidengesäss. By 1703 for the birth of their first child, they were living in Hochstadt; all their children were born there. They had both grown up in the Reformed Church. He emigrated with his wife and family September 11, 1723. In 1742 he was received into the congregation. He died November 20, 1747, aged 73 years, 7 months, and 11 days. ===============================================

When Johannes was a boy between 11 and 15 years of age, his parents moved from Langenselbold, the place of his birth, to Hochstadt, a few miles to the west. Prior to 1700, they had moved again, this time from Hochstadt to Altenhasslau, a few miles east of Langenselbold. In this town the 26-year-old Johannes married Anna Elizabeth Kleiss from the nearby village of Eidengesaess, just southeast of Altenhasslau.

Within a year of their marriage, Johannes and Anna Elizabeth had moved to Hochstadt. There, where all their children were born during their stay of about 22 years, they were "often inspired and visited by other pious people." But in 1723, for reasons unknown, the 49-year-old school teacher and organist pack up his family and left for America.

By the time of his death in 1747, Johannes Leinbach's land holdings had increased to over 400 acres. The following year, Anna Elizabeth moved first to Bethlehem, and then later to Nazareth, Pennsylvania. http://www.ibiblio.org/lineback/leinbach/tree/11.htm1703 - Son Frederick Leinbach Was Born

Friedrich Lienbach was born on 15 July 1703 in Hochstadt, in Hansu, came to America in 1723. He maried on 2 June 1737 Elizabeth Frey who was born 2 June 1717 and was baptized 6 May 1742 by the Reveren Mr. Junger. Friedrich Leinbach was a probationer in 1742. Elizabeth was admitted to Communion in 1742. They came to Graceham from Oley in April 1757 and she died 5 June 1783 after complaining of pain in the chest for a few days and was buried in the churchyard on 7 June 1783. He died on 6 July 1784 and was buried 7 July 1784. Their graves are separate, hers in the women's section and his in the men's section and are unmarked but their exact locations are charted in the church records located at the church in Graceham. They were the parents of 17 children of whom 14 survived the mother and father. Three of the surviving children were Moravians: Christian born 13 February 1739 at Skippack and died 13 Jul 1792; Jacob; and Johanna who married Jacob Protzman. Jacob Linebaugh's daughter, Mary Linebaugh, who married David Keller was not a Moravian. She was born in Graceham, Maryland, the year after her grandfather had died.

Copy of records from Graceham Moravian Church transcribed. The original records have been sent to Pennsylvania

His will:

Frederick Leinbach/Linebaugh Last Will and Testament

In the Name of God Amen the Tenth day of June in the year our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty three. I Frederick Linebough of Frederick County and State of Maryland. Yeomen being in good health of Body and of perfect mind and memary thanks be given into God. Therefore calling into mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is apponted for all men onece to die do make and ordain this my last will and testament that is to say principally and first of all I recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and for any body. I recommend it to the Earth to be buried in a Christian like and decents manner at the discretion of my executors. Nothing doubting but at general resurrection I shall receive the same by the Mighty powerof God and as touching such worldly estate.Wherewith it hath Please God to blefs(belief) me in this life I give devise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form ---- Imprimis it is my will and I do order that in the first place all my just debts and funeral charges be paid and satisfied.

Item I give and bequeath unto my son Joseph Linebough the plantation whereas I now live together with. All buildings and improvements to him and his heirs and ( alsigns or alpsigns or afsigns) forever.

Item I give and bequeath unto my son Christian Linebough the sum of five pounds (blank not legible) gold or silver money to be paid twelve months after my decease. Item my will eind desire is that the remainder of my Estate both real and personal shall be sold and the money ariving there from after paying debts and Legacies. Shall be equally divided between all my children namely Christian, Jacob, Benjamin, John, Joseph, Daniel, Samuel, Elizabeth Linebough, Hana Proatzman, Ann Fry, Mary Mover, Magdalena Willer, Rosanna Weller, Cathaine Linebough.

Item I conistatute and appont my son Jacob Linebough my wholde and sole Executor of this my Last Will and Testament and so hereby utility disallow revoke and disannul all and every other former of Testaments, wills, Segacies and excecutors by me in any ways before this time named willed and bequeathed ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament

Where of I have here unto set my hand and seal the say and year first with in written.

Signed Sealed Published and Declared

by the said Frederick Linebough.

in the last will and testament

in the presence of us the subscribes

Benjamin Ogle

George Devilbifs

David Prostzman

AT the foot of the aforegoing will was thus written. Viz ?

Fredwick County July 24th 1704 There came Benjamin Ogle and David Protzman two of the subscribing witnefses to the foregoing Last will and testament of Frederick Linebaugh late of Frederick county Deceased and made oath on the holy Evangalists of Almightly God that they did see the testator therein named sign and seal this will and that they heard him publish pronoune and declare the same to be his last will and testament that at the time of his so doing he was to the best of their approhendions of sound and desposing lubseriberd their names as witnesfsis to this will in the presence and at the request of the testator and that they sid?. Also see George Devilbifs the other subscribing witnefs subscribe his name as an witnefs thereto in the presence and at the request of the testator and in the presence of each other

Geo Murdock Reg.

Frederick County July 24 1704

Then came Jacob Linebough and made oath that the aforegoing instrument of writing is the true and whole will and testament of Frederick Linebaugh late of Frederick County deceased that hath come to his hands and pofsofision and that he doth not know of any other

Geo Murdock Reg.

The final settlement date was March 31,1791

1723 - Immigrated To America

'If the Leimbachs followed the usual routes, the trek from Hochstadt would have started with a river voyage down the Main. They would have sailed west to the Rhine and then north to Rotterdam, Holland. The journey was about 400 miles... This leg of the journey could take up to six weeks. When at last they made it to Rotterdam, they may have been delayed for several more weeks before a ship was ready.

'Researchers have estimated that a passenger's fare was...a total of $880. Apparently, the Leimbachs could afford it. There is no record that they were among the thousands of indentured servants who were obligated to work off their debts for years after they arrived...

1735 - Settled in Oley Twp, Pa

"The Johannes Leinbach Sr. family settled in PA on a 250-acre farm (which grew to 400+ acres) about 2 miles south of the settlement of Oley, also known as Friedensburg, for which land Johannes Sr. paid quitrent (= a small payment toward purchase of land) before 1734 (IWV). The property, with a log farmhouse, was bought from the Stovers/Staubers. They were a Swiss couple who, historian Phillip Pendleton believes, may have built the house around 1713. Mrs. Stover was the aunt of Daniel Boone, who was born in 1734 a few miles away. (See Philip E. Pendleton’s Oley Valley Heritage, The Colonial Years: 1700-1775, which is a highly informative book on the Oley Valley houses and history.) The log house, on a stone foundation, survived into the 20th century, but has now been lost. There is a photo of the house on page 114 of Pendleton’s Oley Valley Heritage -- The Colonial Years: 1700-1775 (Kutztown, PA, 1994)

The stone house built about 1735 (according to Pendleton) on the Leinbach (now called the Leinbach-Knabb) farmstead, owned in the 1990s by Don Aloan. The stone house stands behind a newer house (dated 1841 on a marker in the front wall, but it was possibly an expansion or renovation of an earlier-built house, according to Pendleton) on Wiest School Road just off Moravian School Road. The original section (the kitchen and central section) was likely built by Johannes Jr., who sold the house to the Knabb family and moved with his wife and 7 children to North Carolina. As of June 1988 the house is still standing." - source unknown

"Johannes and Elizabeth arrived in Pennsylvania with their five children on September 11, 1723. Shortly thereafter, the family had settled on a 250-acre farm about two miles south of present-day Oley, Berks County, Pennsylvania. The homesite, on present-day Cassel Road, between Limekiln and Wiest School Roads, included a log-cabin house build by the previous owners (Stovers/Staubs) as early as 1713. This dwelling (which survived until the beginning of the twentieth century) was visited on a number of occasions by influential Moravians of the time, including August Spangenburg; Count Zinzendorf, the wealthy patron; and David Nitschmann, the bishop who was to later marry Maria Barbara, the youngest Leinbach daughter years. During these years at Oley, a close relationship developed between the Leinbach family and the Moravians and Johannes was appointed as Vorsteher (business manager) of the Moravian congregation there in 1742 by Zinzendorn. "

--------------------------------------------------

'The Leinbach family thrived in the Oley Valley. To replace the log cabin, they built a new stone house in 1735. It still stands... In the same year, Johannes, Jr. married Anna Catharina Riehm. Johanna Maria married Catharina's brother, Abraham Riehm, the tavern keeper, on Christmas Day the same year. Friedrich married Amelia Elizabeth Frey in 1737. Heinrich married Salome Herrmann the following year.

1742 - Made "Vorsteher" (Deacon) by Count Zinzendorf

Jacob Stauber 1713-1723. Johannes and Anna Elisabetha Leinbach had entertained a stream of Moravian missionaries 1736-1741 including Count Zinzendorf and his daughter Benigna.

In 1742 Count Zinzendorf visited in the home of Johannes Sr. (BA), as did Moravian Bishop David Nitschmann, who married their daughter Maria Barbara. Count Zinzendorf inducted Johannes Leinbach Sr. as "Vorsteher" (deacon) of the Moravian congregation in Oley on Apr 9, 1742, when Leinbach was 68. Elizabeth was received into the Moravian Church on Dec 11, 1742 along with several children. He was called "Father Leinbach" in Bethlehem; she, "Mother Leinbach." This association with the Moravians led son Friedrich to move to the English-speaking Moravian settlement of Graceham MD, son Johannes Jr. to purchase and move to Moravian land near the church settlement of Bethania NC, and daughter Maria Barbara to become a missionary.

19th century illustration of the Moravian community in Oley Valley, Pennsylvania in the 18th century.

Research:

"Stover was a Mennonite. His name was Stauber, and he was one of the earliest settlers in Oley Valley in 1713. He left Oley in 1723 following Sarah's premature death and was a developer of German-settled settlements in northwestern New Jersey and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia."

ON p 114 of the book there is a photo of the 'House of the Stauber-Leinbach Homestead' circa 1715-1730 in Oley. Proprietor of the homestead had been Jacob Stauber 1713-1723. Johannes and Anna Elisabetha Leinbach had entertained a stream of Moravian missionaries 1736-1741 including Count Zinzendorf and his daughter Benigna.

The Historical Review of Berks County, April 1949, Boones of Pennsylvania, by ISAAC CRAWFORD SUTTON:

Being a cautious man, before venturing to the new country. George sent his three oldest children. George Jr.. Sarah. and Squire (Daniel's father). to size up the situation here. They sailed for America late in 1712, and on their arrival settled near the Abingdon (now Abington) Friends Monthly Meeting, in Bucks County. Sarah married Jacob Stover, and soon afterward moved to Oley Valley, then in Philadelphia County, now in Berks, about eight miles east of Reading.

Although the children's reports to their father were most favorable, it was five years before he finally emigrated to the province, bringing with him the rest of his family. They sailed on August 17, 1717, and arrived in Philadelphia some seven weeks later, on October 10.

After a short stay with his children in Abingdon. George and his household settled in North Wales and became members of the Gwynned Meeting. Two years later George moved to Oley Valley along with his son George. Jr. There they purchased about 400 acres along the Owatin (now Spring) Creek and built their cabins. His daughter, Sarah Stover [sic Stauber] and her husband Jacob lived nearby, having moved there in 1714.

Soon after settling, George Sr. and his family organized the Exeter Friends Meeting in the Valley, and gave the ground on which the meeting house still stands. Here many of the Boones lie buried, and also some of the Lincolns: for Mordecai Lincoln. great- great-grandfather of the "Great Emancipator," lived in the vicinity and the two families intermarried. ====================================================

Another story:

'Johannes Leinbach Senior, b 9 Mar 1674 was born in Langenselbold, in the Wetterau region near Hanau (east of Frankfurt), Germany. He was baptized on Apr 15, 1674; godfather was Johannes Lerch, at Langenselbold on March 9, 1674, and was baptized there immediately after his birth...

'In Germany he was an organist. He married Anna Elisabeth Kliess on October 2, 1700. Johannes Sr. and Elizabeth were married at the Reformed Church in Altenhasslau.

'Johannes and Elizabeth arrived in Pennsylvania with their five children on September 11, 1723. Shortly thereafter, the family had settled on a 250 acre farm about two miles south of present-day Oley, Berks County, Pennsylvania. The home site, on present-day Cassel Road, between Limekiln and West School Roads, included a log-cabin house built by the previous owners (Stovers/Staubs) as early as 1713. (This dwelling survived until the beginning of the twentieth century.) The stone house was built about 1735 on the Leinbach farmstead... The original section was likely built by Johannes Jr., who sold the house to the Knabb family and moved with his wife and 7 children to North Carolina. (This house was still standing as of 1988.)

'[The Linebaugh family] was visited on a number of occasions by influential Moravians of the time, including August Spangenburg, Count Zinzendorf, the wealthy patron, and David Nitschmann, the bishop who was to later marry Maria Barbara, the youngest Leinbach daughter. During these years at Oley, a close relationship developed between the Leinbach family and the Moravians, and Johannes was appointed as Vorsteher (business manager) of the Moravian congregation there in 1742 by Zinzendron.

'By the time of his death in 1747, Johannes Leinbach's land holdings had increased to over 400 acres. The following year, Anna Elizabeth moved first to Bethlehem, and then later to Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

'The family may have taken its name "Leinbach" from their lords, the "von Leinbach" family, who owned the region in the late Middle Ages, but there is no evidence to date we were descended from them. The von Leinbach family owned the land on which Johann Heinrich Leinbach was born in 1649--one branch of which still maintains a castle called "Eisenbach" near Lauterbach. The Baron von Riedesel lives in the town of Lauterbach.'

from "The Moravian Church," http://www.fmoran.com:

'When Johannes was a boy between 11 and 15 years of age, his parents moved from Langenselbold, the place of his birth, to Hochstadt, a few miles to the west. Prior to 1700, they had moved again, this time from Hochstadt ot Altenhasslau, a few miles east of Langenselbold. In this town the 26 year-old Johannes married Anna Elizabeth Kleiss from the nearby village of Eidengesaess, just southeast of Altenhasslau.

'Within a year of their marriage, Johannes and Anna Elizabeth had moved to Hochstadt. There, where all their children were born during their stay of about 22 years, they were "often inspired and visited by other pious people." But in 1723, for reasons unknown, the 49 year-old school teacher and organist packed up his family and left for America...

Above is a 19th century illustration of the Moravian community in Oley Valley, Pennsylvania in the 18th century. Johannes and Elisabetha were both members of this religious body. In this mission was "God's Acre," the graveyard for the faithful.

'Johannes died on November 20, 1747. He is believed to be buried in an unmarked cemetery at the site of the Moravian School near his home in the Oley Valley.'

'Johannes died on November 20, 1747. He is believed to be buried in an unmarked cemetery at the site of the Moravian School near his home in the Oley Valley.'

Fact 5: 1742 received into the Moravian congregation and appointed business manager of the Moravian congregation, Oley, Berks Co., PA, by Zinzendorf;

Fact 6: immigrated in 1723;

Fact 7: lived in log cabin built by Jacob Stauber--picture;

Fact 8: affiliated with Moravian school located next to his property; believed buried in unmarked grave in cemetery on hill behind school;

Fact 9: married October 2, 1700, to Anna Elizabeth Kleiss in Reformed Church Altenhasslau;

Notes for Anna Elisabetha Kleiss:

from "Genealogical Data from the Moravian Church Oley Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania":

'Anna Elisabeth Leinbach, nee Kliess, was born in Langenselbold, Germany at Eidengesess in the Wetterau on February 2, 1680, and baptized there right after her birth by the pastor of that place in the Lutheran religion, in which she was raised by her parents, Adam Kliess, and Elizabeth, nee Schillinger. d 25 Apr 1765. She had five children: 1) Freidrch; 2) Johann Henrich; 3) Johannes; 4) Johanna Maria; 5) Maria Barbara.

'Adam and Anna Elizabetha Schilling (Schillinger) Kleiss (Gleiss/Kleis), had been married in Eidengesass, where she was born. Adam Kleiss's parents were Anna Mey (born in Eidengesass) and Hans Bernhardt Kleiss. Anna Elizabetha's father was Heinrich Schilling.'

15 viii. Maria Barbara Linebaugh, born September 11, 1722 in Hochstadt, Hanau, Germany. She married David Nitschmann.

==============================

Possibly the School House

Oley Valley

The settlers

The first European settlers in the Oley Valley arrived in the early 1700s. The settlers were primarily German along with French Huguenots and Swedes seeking religious freedom. One of the Valleys early residents was Mordecai Lincoln, the great-grandfather of Abraham Lincoln the 16th President of United States. The Lincoln Homestead can still be seen and visited in what is now Exeter Township. The Moravian Church had a Congregation for a time in Oley and operated one of the first schools in the area.

Another one of the Valley’s early residents was the Boone family. Daniel Boone the famous pioneer was born in Oley in 1734. Oley played an important role during the early days of the Revolutionary War. During George Washington's encampment at Valley Forge Oley’s farmers sent large amounts of food along with cannon balls made at the Oley Furnace to bolster Washington's army.